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Western, Minnesota

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1910 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Western Township. It lies in ZIP code area 56537. The Survey maps it on the Orwell Lake quadrangle.

Western within Otter Tail County

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 9 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

6 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Western between 1998 and 2020, burning about 183 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined5
Debris and open burning1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
28 May 2020Debris and open burning2.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
1 May 2000Missing data/not specified/undetermined7.0 acresFergus Falls Wetland Management DistrictLIGHTINING LAKE
3 April 1998Missing data/not specified/undetermined20 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 April 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresFergus Falls Wetland Management DistrictSTONY BROOK (BARN)
28 March 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined143 acresFergus Falls Wetland Management DistrictGRADY MANN
26 March 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined8.0 acresFergus Falls Wetland Management DistrictLILLEMOEN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Otter Tail County

Storms near this place

15 since 2001

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Western in 15 storm reports between 2001 and 2022: 7 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWestern$500,000Several large oak trees were snapped across the northern half of Western Township. A wide snarl was evident, indicating a weak embedded circulation in an otherwise downburst pattern.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindWestern-Roofing was torn off of a hay shed, two roadside power poles were snapped, and numerous large tree branches and limbs were broken at two farmsteads. Farmsteads were across the road from each other. Time estimated based on radar and nearby wind sensors.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindWestern-A peak wind gust of 67 mph was measured at a personal weather station.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindWestern-Spruce trees uprooted and large ash tree limbs broken in southwest Western Township. Time estimated based on radar.
July 2017HailWestern-The large hail fell across southern Orwell Township.
July 2017HailWestern-Quarter to golf ball sized hail and strong winds were reported across southern Aastad Township.
July 2015HailWestern-The hail fell across northwest Aastad Township.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindWestern-A few large tree branches and tree limbs were broken down in a shelterbelt about one mile west of Squier. Intermittent wind damage was evident across southern Aastad and Western townships.
August 2011Heavy RainWestern-An observer reported 3.50 inches of rain early in the morning of the 1st.
August 2010Tornado (EF1)Western-This tornado tracked intermittently for about 4 miles, mainly over open fields. However, the tornado did knock down some trees in shelterbelts and left swirls in crops. The tornado and debris cloud was viewed from near Elbow Lake. Peak winds were estimated at 90 mph.
August 2010Funnel CloudWestern-no account filed
July 2008HailWestern-no account filed
October 2004HailWestern-no account filed
May 2002HailWestern-no account filed
August 2001HailWestern-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Otter Tail County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Roberts (historical)2.1 miles9
Squier5.5 miles9
French9.4 miles10
River Bluff Estates9.8 miles11
Parkdale10.6 miles9
Fergus Falls10.6 miles11
Lakeview Estates12.4 miles11
Dalton14.3 miles13

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 655006. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.